Compositions containing herbicidal and plant growth modifying chemicals are widely used in agricultural, industrial, recreational, and residential areas worldwide. The active ingredients of such compositions are frequently carboxylic acids, more particularly their salts. These carboxylic acid salts generally have very high water solubility leading to their use in aqueous concentrates intended for dilution in water prior to application by spraying and also in granules for non-spray, broadcast application.
Granule (GR) products for non-spray, broadcast application may be used for insect, weed, fungal pathogen and nematode control and are often used in soil and aquatic environments. Because of the particle weight, granules used in aerial applications may pose a reduced hazard from off-target drift compared to aerial liquid spray applications.
In some situations, granule compositions containing salts of herbicidal carboxylic acids require additional processing steps in order to improve their storage stability. Such compositions may require the use of a final surface coating step and an additional drying step in order to prevent stickiness and caking of the granules.